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| 6 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 11 | %% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16667398850.90973200 |
| 12 | %% Please don't add a new image without discussion in Image Pickin'. |
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| 14 | ->'''Thornbird:''' I'm Agent Robert Thornbird, and you are?\ |
| 15 | '''O'Neill:''' Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship ''Enterprise''.\ |
| 16 | '''Thornbird:''' Your dog tags say otherwise.\ |
| 17 | '''O'Neill:''' They're lying. |
| 18 | -->-- ''Series/StargateSG1'' |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Fictional characters going undercover need snazzy aliases so that they aren't recognized. Can't think of what to call yourself, and the [[LineOfSightAlias scenery isn't providing any helpful hints]]? Just use the name of a character from fiction or the name of a real famous person! No one will ever know who you really are. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Compare with LineOfSightAlias, SdrawkcabAlias, SueDonym, ImMrFuturePopCultureReference (when the character has traveled back in time and is using a name from the future) and ThemedAliases (when a character makes a habit out of doing this). Subtrope of LazyAlias. See also UnusualPopCultureName, when said obvious pop culture reference is their real name, often to their embarrassment. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Note that there has to be special significance behind a real person using the name of a fictional character before a Real Life entry can be added; if we had to count how many instances people use the names of cultural or pop-cultural icons as gaming aliases, we'd be here until the heat death of the universe. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ---- |
| 27 | !!Examples: |
| 28 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 31 | * In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Shin'ichi Kudo is [[FountainOfYouth changed into a little boy by a powerful poison]]. When he returns to his house after the change, he is surprised by his not-yet-girlfriend Ran Mouri and hastily thinks up the name of Conan, from Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, the famous author of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes''. His fake last name of Edogawa comes from Edogawa Ranpo, a Japanese mystery author, whose pen name in turn is a pun on Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (Edogaa Aran Po). |
| 32 | * In ''Manga/DeathNote'', the master detective on the trail of a supernatural serial killer introduces himself to the suspect with the name of an internationally famous pop star. This is part of the detective's BatmanGambit as the killer needs only the name and face of a victim to kill; but, if the killer accidentally thinks of the pop star instead, the celebrity's widely reported death would confirm his guilt. |
| 33 | * In ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'' by Mamour Nagano, the main character uses the alias Ladios Sopp. In ''Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim'', which Nagano worked on, the main villain is Oldna Poseidal. Ladios Sopp [[SdrawkcabName backwards]] is (P)possoidal. |
| 34 | * In ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'', during the Seven Goodbyes arc, Fuutarou meets one of the quintuplets ([[spoiler:later revealed to be Itsuki]]) disguised as a grown-up version of the girl he met in Kyoto five years ago. She calls herself "Rena", which is the name of the quints' late mother. |
| 35 | [[/folder]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 38 | * The Grey Ghost is a character from an old tv show in the DCU, and a Gotham oddball picked up the name and tried to become ComicBook/{{Batgirl|2009}}'s sidekick. |
| 39 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' enemy the Film Freak uses the alias Edison after UsefulNotes/ThomasEdison, inventor of the motion picture[[note]]At least in popular understanding[[/note]]. |
| 40 | * In the One Year Later story arc, ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} uses the assumed name of Irena Dubrovna to hide her identity, which in turn provides a ShoutOut to the character in the 1942 film ''Film/CatPeople''. |
| 41 | * While on the run in ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfClarkKent'', ComicBook/{{Superman}} combined the last names of Batman and ComicBook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan to use as an alias, "Wayne Jordan". |
| 42 | * The trope picture is the ComicBook/MartianManhunter shapeshifting into an (apparently) Japanese woman named "[[Franchise/SailorMoon Hino Rei]]" in an issue of ''ComicBook/JLA1997'' guest written by Creator/MarkMillar. Seriously. What's more: ComicBook/{{Batman}} picked up on the reference. Out-of-universe, this is supposedly due to someone pranking Millar when he asked for a Japanese name connected with Mars. |
| 43 | * ''ComicBook/MegaMan'': Xander Payne went under the name Mr. Wells to infiltrate the Chronos Institute and attempt to use its time travel technology to stop robot development. He must have been hoping no one noticed he was naming himself after Creator/HGWells, author of ''Literature/TheTimeMachine''. |
| 44 | * In ''ComicBook/LoriLovecraft: The Big Comeback'', studio executive Benteen is embezzling cash by putting a fake employee named '[[Literature/HerbertWestReanimator Herbert West]]' on the books and then writing cheques to them. |
| 45 | * ''ComicBook/{{Spyboy}}'''s partner Bombshell attended his sleeper personality's high school under the name "Marta Hari." |
| 46 | ** When ComicBook/YoungJustice infiltrated said high school, they used even more obvious aliases, including Rob Roy (ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}) and Helena Troy (ComicBook/WonderGirl). Mercifully the charade didn't last long. |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': One of the aliases used by immortal villain Mister Z is 'George Bailey': the name of the protagonist of ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife''. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 51 | * In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Izuku quickly comes up with the name "Tobey Reilly" for Peter when Inko asks for his tutor's name. It's a combination of [[Creator/TobeyMaguire Tobey Maguire's]] and Ben Reilly's, the Scarlet Spider's, names (the latter of whom derived his name from Uncle Ben's first name and Aunt May's maiden name). |
| 52 | * ''Fanfic/ACourierForKivotos'': Courier Six introduces himself to the clueless (at least Aru and Haruka were) Problem Solver 68 as 'Texas Red', the outlaw featured in Marty Robbins' hit song, "Big Iron". Later during the bank heist, Shiroko enthusiastically suggests nicknames for herself and the Courier: Vikki & Vance respectively (the outlaws venerated by a casino back in Primm). |
| 53 | * ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'': The titular character adopts what would become his supervillain name by quoting a line from ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'', introducing himself as Darth Vader from Vulcan. The 'Vader' part is quickly lost in translation, and 'Darth Vulcan' is the name he adopts for his newfound career as an evil overlord. |
| 54 | * ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}} [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]'' has the anonymous main character make up the alias "Winston" when meeting another character, who uses the alias "Orwell". |
| 55 | ** This trope was also part of a major trolling scheme against the "original" ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'' author, who was successfully convinced that his comic was being plagiarized by an Englishman named Jimmy Hill, who is actually a football commentator. |
| 56 | * ''Fanfic/TheWandererOfTheNorth'': Nikóleva goes by the name 'Wintermail' during her self-imposed exile so that no one will suspect her as an Alicorn. |
| 57 | * In ''Fanfic/WhereTheTruthLiesAnimorphs'', [[spoiler:Tom comes up with his fake first name, Jordan, on the spot after Michael Jordan, after his interrogator introduces himself as Special Agent Michaels.]] |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 61 | * ''Film/NineteenNinetyFourBakerStreetSherlockHolmesReturns'': When Holmes visits the police station, he decides that giving his name as Sherlock Holmes might be a good idea, so he introduces himself as "Holmes, Oliver W.", although it is not clear if he is referring to the physician, poet, and polymath or his son, the jurist and legal scholar; both of whom would have been known to him. Of course, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was both a physician and a writer, so perhaps Holmes was thinking of his original [[TheWatson Watson]]. |
| 62 | * In ''Film/AmericanPsycho'' Patrick Bateman gets out of conversations with the detective by claiming to have a meeting with various characters from '80s sitcoms. |
| 63 | * In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Marty adopts the name "Creator/ClintEastwood" while stuck in the Old West. |
| 64 | * In ''Film/TheBigClock'', George Stroud uses the alias 'Jefferson Randolph': the name of a comedy SouthernGentleman his actor friend [=McKinley=] used to play on the radio. |
| 65 | * In ''Film/TheBirdcage'', the flamboyantly gay housekeeper is pretending to be a stereotypical butler and introduces himself as [[IAmSpartacus Spartacus.]] |
| 66 | * All the names ''Film/TheCableGuy'' goes by are sitcom characters, starting with [[Series/MyThreeSons Chip Douglas]]. He never reveals his true name. |
| 67 | * In ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'', Frank Abagnale Jr. uses the alias Barry Allen, the secret identity of ComicBook/TheFlash. Agent Hanratty figures out that the person they're looking for is probably quite young based on this information, after a waiter at a diner asks if he's a comic book collector when he sees he's reading about a Barry Allen. |
| 68 | * In ''Film/{{Copycat}}'', Peter Foley uses the names of lesser-known serial killers as his aliases. |
| 69 | * The male {{serial killer}}s in ''Film/TheDevilsRejects'' use the names of [[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]] characters. |
| 70 | * All of the aliases used on name tags by the main character in ''Film/FightClub'' are names from films such as ''Film/TaxiDriver'' (Travis) and ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' (Cornelius). |
| 71 | * In ''Film/{{Fletch}}'', the title character goes by a number of aliases: |
| 72 | ** Real people: Music/TedNugent, Music/IgorStravinsky, Gordon Liddy and [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman Harry S. Truman]]. |
| 73 | ** Characters: Babar (the elephant), [[Film/TheGodfather Don Corleone.]] |
| 74 | ** Just plain weird: Dr. Rosenpenis |
| 75 | ** In the second Fletch film, ''Film/FletchLives'', Fletch uses the alias "Elmer [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Fudd]] [[Literature/ElmerGantry Gantry]]", combining the names of two fictional characters. |
| 76 | * ''Film/{{Frenzy|1972}}'': The protagonist, Blaney, and his girlfriend Babs check in at a hotel under the name of "Mr and Mrs Creator/OscarWilde". |
| 77 | * The otherwise forgettable made-for-TV ''ComicBook/GenerationX'' movie had [[PsychicPowers Emma Frost]] pass off herself and Banshee off as Hootie and the Blowfish without the police officer batting an eyelash. Luckily, Emma has also messed with the guard's mindsight. |
| 78 | * Happens to Iko Uwais again in ''Film/{{Headshot}}'' when his character wakes up in hospital with no idea of who he is or what his name is. His doctor, who happens to be reading ''Literature/MobyDick'' at the time, starts calling him Ishmael, and he just rolls with it, even after he learns his real name. |
| 79 | * Real-person name example from ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'': Would-be presidential assassin Mitch Leary uses the name Booth (as in John Wilkes) when taunting Agent Frank Horrigan (a former JFK bodyguard) over the phone. |
| 80 | -->'''Leary:''' Why not call me Booth?\ |
| 81 | '''Horrigan:''' Why not Oswald?\ |
| 82 | '''Leary:''' Because Booth had flair, panache -- a leap to the stage after he shot Lincoln. |
| 83 | * ''Film/JackReacher'': When Sandy first approaches Jack, he introduces himself as Jimmy Reese, taking the name of a 1930s baseball player. Since she already knew his name (and was told he was a sexual harasser they were trying to set up), this throws her for a loop. |
| 84 | * In ''Film/NottingHill'' Julia Roberts' character (a famous actress) uses fake aliases taken from cartoon characters to check into hotels. |
| 85 | * ''Film/TheOddAngryShot'': During the scene on the range, the range corporal asks the four protagonists for their names as he is reprimanding them. On the spur of the moment, he is given four false names; [[ThemedAliases Grey, Green, Brown]] & Oakover. As they're leaving, one of them asks if Oakover is a real person, and Harry replies that he is their detachment commander. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/OnlyLoversLeftAlive'', Adam uses the aliases [[Myth/{{Faust}} Dr. Faust]] and [[Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari Dr. Caligari]] when he visits a clinic to buy blood. His supplier obviously knows that they're aliases and doesn't care, as he sarcastically refers to him as [[Film/DrStrangelove Dr. Strangelove]]. |
| 87 | * In ''Film/ThePlayer'', the blackmailer uses the alias 'Joe Gillis' (the narrator from ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'') but this is intentional because he knows the connotations will rattle his target. |
| 88 | * ''Film/TheRaid2Berandal'' combines this with ActorAllusion when Creator/IkoUwais' character, Rama, goes undercover with the mob under the name "Yuda", which was the name of the character Uwais played in ''Film/{{Merantau}}'' a few years earlier. |
| 89 | * In ''Film/TheSaint1997'' with Val Kilmer, all of Simon's aliases are names of Catholic saints. |
| 90 | * In ''Film/ScareCampaign'', Emma introduces herself as Jennifer Agutter while playing the part of a nurse during the psychiatric hospital prank. Creator/JennyAgutter is a British actress who played a nurse and the main love interest to David Naughton in ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon''. |
| 91 | * In ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'', Lord Wessex brings a knife to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's throat and threatens him to stay away from his future wife Viola de Lesseps. Wessex demands to know Shakespeare's name to deter any future meddling. Will uses the name "Creator/ChristopherMarlowe", the name of his chief competitor. In real life, Marlowe was murdered in mysterious circumstances. |
| 92 | * In ''Film/ShockTreatment'', it turns out that Cosmo and Nation [=McKinley=] [[spoiler: are not real doctors, but character actors who use an assortment of last names -- all those of U.S. presidents]]. |
| 93 | * In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', Film/JamesBond enters a meeting of the title organization claiming to be "Topolino" - Westernanimation/MickeyMouse's Italian name. |
| 94 | * One of the actors in the trouble [[ShowWithinAShow Film Within A Film]] in ''Film/TropicThunder'' is a rapper going by the name [[CreatorAlPacino Alpa Chino]] |
| 95 | * In ''Film/TheKiller2023'', all of the Killer's fake identities use names of sitcom characters, such as [[Film/TheOddCouple Oscar Wallace]] and [[Series/TheJeffersons George Jefferson]]. |
| 96 | * In ''Film/TimeAfterTime'', H.G. Wells comes to the present [1979] and tries to use the name "Literature/SherlockHolmes", mistakenly thinking that the fictional character would be forgotten in the future. Fortunately, due to not many people knowing what "H.G." stands for, he's nicely able to fit in just by using his real name, Herbert Wells. |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 100 | * [[OperatorFromIndia Scene from an Indian call center:]] |
| 101 | --> People, you remember how I told you to use a Western name when calling?\ |
| 102 | Yes, we all took one. Why, what's the problem?\ |
| 103 | If Creator/BruceWillis, Creator/JuliaRoberts, and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger would kindly step into my office, I'll explain. |
| 104 | [[/folder]] |
| 105 | |
| 106 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 107 | * In ''Literature/TheAliceNetwork'', René Boredelon always chooses false names from Baudelaire. |
| 108 | -->'''Charlie''': What makes you certain du Malassis is your Bordelon? \ |
| 109 | '''Eve''': Malassis is the surname of the publisher who printed Baudelaire’s ''Les Fleurs Du Mal''. |
| 110 | * ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': |
| 111 | ** In the novel "The Unknown", Marco, Rachel, and Cassie are captured in a military base. They give their names as [[Series/TheXFiles Fox Mulder, Dana Scully]] and Cindy Crawford, respectively. |
| 112 | ** In the very last book, they identify themselves to a rogue Yeerk ship as the Starship ''Enterprise'', from the [[Franchise/StarTrek United Federation of Planets]]. This turns out to be a [[DidntThinkThisThrough bad idea]], as a human-Controller responds, laughingly asking to speak to Captain Picard. |
| 113 | * In ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'', Yossarian censors letters under the name Washington Irving. This is eventually copied by Major Major, who is delighted by the fact that "Washington Irving" can be flipped around and people will know the difference. |
| 114 | * A character in "The Dancing Floor" by Creator/CherryWilder goes by the name "Ben Gunn", after the hermit in ''Literature/TreasureIsland''. The protagonist spends most of the story trying to figure out why the name seems familiar, at one point looking at metallurgy texts because she's remembered that it's connected to "flint" and "silver". |
| 115 | * In ''Literature/ColinFischer'', Colin tells a gang member his name is [[Series/StElsewhere Tommy Westphall]]. |
| 116 | * In ''Literature/TheDarkestEveningOfTheYear'' by Creator/DeanKoontz, one of the villains uses at least two aliases from Kurt Vonnegut novels. |
| 117 | * ''Literature/DiogenesClub'': |
| 118 | ** In "The Big Fish", the protagonist at one point uses "Lovecraft" as an alias, which is both an InspirationNod (the story draws heavily on Creator/HPLovecraft's "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth") and an opportunity for the FemmeFatale to make a suggestive comment about 'love craft'. |
| 119 | ** In ''Literature/SevenStars'', Catriona Kaye is fond of the movie ''Film/LesVampires'' and uses the name 'Irma Vep' as her GoToAlias. |
| 120 | ** Also in ''Seven Stars'', the female invalid who lives in Edwin Winthrop's attic is referred to as "[[Literature/JaneEyre Mrs Rochester]]" when discussing her with others who don't know her real name. |
| 121 | * In ''Literature/DinnerAtDeviantsPalace'', the protagonist uses the pseudonym "[[{{ComicStrip/Pogo}} Pogo Possum]]" at one point, knowing that it won't ring any bells with anyone who doesn't share his rare hobby of reading books from before TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. |
| 122 | * Trix [=MacMillan=] is not the real name of the character from the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' who's known by that name, and it's very close to [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Tricia McMillan]]. |
| 123 | * ''Creator/ElleryQueen'': In ''The Origin of Evil'', there is a character who calls himself Alfred Wallace. He was an orphan who had never had what he regarded as a name of his own, so he selected 'Alfred Wallace' when he reached adulthood. Recognising the connotations of the name (Wallace was a naturalist and contemporary of Darwin who independently proposed a theory of natural selection) is what [[EurekaMoment starts Ellery down the path to the solution of the mystery]]. |
| 124 | * In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's ''[[Literature/LineOfDelirium Emperors of Illusions]]'', the protagonists Kay and Tommy introduce themselves as Literature/DavidCopperfield and Literature/OliverTwist, respectively, at the Grail spaceport. The official recognizes that something is strange and asks for their ID. Kay tells him that they are members of the Cult of Anonimists who are against being photographed (hence, no ID) and adds that even their names are taken from literary characters, after seeing that the trick didn't work. |
| 125 | * In ''Literature/EndersGame'', Ender's brother and sister make [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke "Locke"]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demosthenes "Demosthenes"]] their online identities. |
| 126 | * In ''Literature/FalseMemory'', the evil psychologist is named Mark [[LouisCypher Ahriman]]. Not only is his last name identical to the name of the chief figure of evil in Zoroastrianism, but when he travels, he uses aliases that have two things in common: very ordinary first names, and last names that are the name of the Devil. One example is "Jim Shaitan", Shaitan being one of the names for the Devil in Islam. |
| 127 | * In-universe example in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant,'' when Watch Commander Sir Samuel Vimes questions a dwarf who'd been involved in a recent street brawl who started it, the dwarf responds with the name "Agi Hammerthief" before Vimes releases him. Captain Carrot (who was raised by dwarfs) explains to Vimes that Agi Hammerthief is a figure out of dwarf folklore, a mischievous trickster spirit. |
| 128 | * ''Literature/JackReacher'' regularly hides himself by using the names of New York Yankees second basemen as aliases. |
| 129 | * ''Literature/JoePickett'' |
| 130 | ** In ''In Plain Sight'', psycho J.W. Keeley uses the name Bill Monroe (a famous bluegrass musician) as his GoToAlias. He even comments to himself that he hopes he doesn't run across someone who is a bluegrass fan. |
| 131 | ** In ''Endangered'', EvilMatriarch Brenda Cates uses the name of country singer Kitty Wells as an alias. Liv knows that she has heard that name before, but cannot place where. |
| 132 | * ''Literature/TheLadyInTheLake'': At one point, needing a fake name at a moment's notice, Marlowe claims to be named Literature/PhiloVance. |
| 133 | * In ''Literature/LastSonOfKrypton'', Lex Luthor uses the name 'Abraham Lincoln' when passing through an alien spaceport. |
| 134 | * The main character of ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' identifies himself to the reader as [[Creator/RobertEHoward Bob Howard]], but acknowledges that it's not his real name. |
| 135 | * The main character of ''Literature/LittleBrother'' originally goes by "w1n5t0n", as in the protagonist of ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''. When the plot starts heating up, he realized it might be a tad too obvious, and gets a new alias. |
| 136 | * The titular Murderbot of ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries'' picks "Eden", after a character from its favourite entertainment serial, as an alias when passing as a human security consultant. Necessary as its true name is both private and [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast incredibly worrying]]. |
| 137 | * In the Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery novel ''Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles'' by A. L. Herbert, Mahalia and her cousin Wavonne tell a security guard they're trying to get illicit information about the murder from that their names are [[Series/LivingSingle Synclaire and Khadijah]]. Using this kind of alias helps Mahalia realize that the victim's girlfriend Regine is also using an alias. |
| 138 | * In Colin Bateman's ''Literature/MysteryMan'' the narrator, who runs a crime bookshop, goes by a succession of names of crime writers and fictional detectives - unfortunately the people he's talking to are more genned up on their crime fiction than he expects and there are [[RunningGag a few]] "oh, like the writer?" jokes. |
| 139 | * Creator/RogerZelazny wrote a series of novellas, collected in ''Literature/MyNameIsLegion'', about a secret agent whose real name even his employer didn't know, whose aliases were always the names of obscure-but-notable historical figures. (In a break from the usual procedure, the historical figure always had ''nothing whatever'' to do with the job at hand; for instance, on his first appearance he was undercover as an engineer, but using a name whose original owner was a doctor.) |
| 140 | * In ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', the Marquis de Carabas admits to taking that pseudonym from "[[Literature/PussInBoots a lie in a fairy-tale]]". |
| 141 | * In ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', Merrin hates his name and gives himself a MeaningfulRename to "Daniel Hunter" after the two scariest people he can think of, [=DomDaniel=] and The Hunter. |
| 142 | * In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', sorcerers give themselves a new name when they learn magic to protect themselves from [[IKnowYourTrueName certain kinds of mind control]]. In "Seasons of War," Skulduggery forms a team that includes a sorcerer who has taken the name Luke Skywalker because of his love for ''Franchise/StarWars'' and his belief that the name inspires [[Film/ANewHope hope]]. Dexter Vex and Tanith Low, [[Really700YearsOld who are both a lot older]] than ''Star Wars'', aren't sure they can take him seriously with a name like that, but Skulduggery tells them to respect his choice. |
| 143 | * ''Literature/SolarPons'' has used both [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Holmes and Moriarty]] as aliases. |
| 144 | * ''Literature/SweetValleyHigh'' had a spin-off series, ''Elizabeth'', in which Elizabeth runs away to London and becomes a servant in an aristocrat's mansion. She decides to use the alias [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice Elizabeth Bennet]], and while people do call her out on it, she ultimately gets away with the ruse. |
| 145 | * In ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'' book ''Tale of the Body Thief'' Lestat uses aliases that refer to figures from Gothic literature ("Sheridan Blackwood," "Sebastien Melmoth") and from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' ("Clarence Oddbody," "Lionel Potter"). |
| 146 | * In Creator/DanielPinkwater's ''Literature/YoungAdultNovel'', the Wild Dada Ducks of Himmler High School, who use their Dada names instead of their real names, include the Honorable Venustiano Carranza (President of Mexico), previously known as Pecos Bill. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 150 | * PlayedWith in ''Series/BabylonFive'': Nobody in the Centauri Republic suspects "[[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Abrahamo Linconi]]" to be a fraud. The Earth Alliance characters, however, spot the deception immediately. |
| 151 | * Sam on ''Series/BurnNotice'' usually uses "Charles 'Chuck' Finley" as his alias, but in the second episode he and Fiona introduced themselves to a pair of con artists as Detectives Series/CagneyAndLacey. This [[ActorAllusion alludes]] to the fact that Sharon Gless (Cagney) plays Michael's mother. |
| 152 | * A blackmailer in one episode of ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' used a cheap motel as the drop point for the money. She rented the room under the name [[Literature/GoneWithTheWind Scarlett O'Hara]]. |
| 153 | --> '''Castle:''' ''(disbelieving)'' She's a fictional character.\ |
| 154 | '''Clerk:''' It's that kind of place. |
| 155 | ** In another episode, which turns out to be about heroin smuggling, the man who made the pickups for the drugs [[spoiler: at a pizza parlor, no less]] used the names of characters from noir films. |
| 156 | ** Played with slightly in another episode, in which Castle puts a tracking app on his phone to track Alexis' movements through GPS. When he calls her out on not being where she said she'd be, she asks how he knew. He said a friend saw her, and he said that friend was J. J. Adams, who happened to be Leslie Nielson's character on ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'' (which Alexis realized almost immediately). Castle got a pretty piercing TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for that. |
| 157 | * ''Series/ColdCase'': In "One Small Step", a witness who hands in a piece of evidence related to a murder that took place on the day of the first moon landing uses the alias "Michael Collins"; the name of the third astronaut on the Apollo 11 mission. |
| 158 | * In the ''Series/CornerGas'' episode "World's Biggest Thing", Brent adds the names [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Marge Simpson]] and [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc Picard]] to a list of people who have bounced checks at the gas station. Oscar doesn't recognize the names, gets very angry about the bounced checks, and tells Brent, "Don't take checks from Marge Simpson or that French guy!" Brent finds this hilarious and a few minutes later he tells Lacey that Oscar is still trying to track down Arthur Fonzarelli. |
| 159 | * On ''Series/CriminalMinds'' one [=UnSub=] was a teenager who used [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV Niko Bellic]] as an alias. Everyone was shocked when ''[[CoolOldGuy Rossi]]'' [[Funny/CriminalMinds recognized it as GTAIV's main character]]. |
| 160 | * One ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode featured a serial killer who used the names of slasher villains as aliases. |
| 161 | ** In "Malice in Wonderland", a marriage celebrant who stages Literature/AliceInWonderland themed weddings uses the alias "Charles Dodgson" (the real name of Alice author Lewis Carroll) to hide the fact that he has a criminal record. |
| 162 | * ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' orders his tranquilizers as [[Literature/AmericanPsycho Patrick Bateman]]. Not a very smart choice for a SerialKiller trying to evade detection while working in a police department... |
| 163 | * ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': In "Someone's Son, Someone's Daughter", the killer has been using the name [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Morgagni "Giovanni Morgagni"]] when creating fake prescriptions to feed their morphine habit. When Lucien confronts them, he mentions that using the name of a famous Italian pathologist was not very smart. |
| 164 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 165 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild "The Empty Child"]], Rose introduces the Ninth Doctor as [[Franchise/StarTrek Mr. Spock]]. In this case, the character she introduces him to is from the ''51[-[[superscript:st]]-]'' century, so his lack of knowledge of 20[-[[superscript:th]]-]-century pop culture is justified. |
| 166 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]] has the Doctor introduce himself as Spartacus. Donna Noble quickly follows with [[IAmSpartacus "And so am I."]] |
| 167 | * ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': In "Terra Pericolosa", a thief who specialises in stealing maps uses the alias René Duchez. Duchez was a member of the French resistance who stole plans that showed the defences of Hitler's Atlantic Wall. |
| 168 | * ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': |
| 169 | ** Butch and Sundance were used as aliases when Crichton and Aeryn were masquerading as bounty hunters. |
| 170 | ** Crichton ''loves'' this trope. He's also claimed to be Film/TheWizardOfOz. |
| 171 | *** And the reverse: He referred to himself as "Fred Scarran" during an Earth episode. |
| 172 | * ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' |
| 173 | ** In one episode, Sophia gives her name as Creator/MelanieGriffith at a self-help group. |
| 174 | ** Another episode has Sophia giving her name as Music/{{Cher}} on a radio call-in show. |
| 175 | ** An in-universe example: "72 Hours" has Rose checking into the hospital to get tested for HIV. The nurse, sensing her discomfort, suggests giving a fake name to feel better. Rose chooses..."Dorothy Zbornak." |
| 176 | ** In "Grab That Dough", Blanche tries to bluff a hotel receptionist into giving them a room by claiming that she's actress Angie Dickinson, having [[DyeingForYourArt "altered her appearance for a movie role."]] [[DeadpanSnarker Dorothy can't resist chiming in]]: "Yeah, it's about a woman who eats her way from behind the Iron Curtain." |
| 177 | * ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': In "Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent", Eleanor preemptively tells Jason he can't take his idol Blake Bortles's name as a secret identity, so Jason settles for [[LazyAlias Jake Jortles]] instead. |
| 178 | * ''Series/TheGruenTransfer'': When Wil submitted his DNA to Ancestry.com, he did so under the name '[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Gruen Victor Gruen]]'; the architect after whom the show is named. |
| 179 | * ''Series/{{Harrow}}'': In "Ut Biberent Quoniam Esse Nollent" ("Let Them Drink, Since They Won't Eat"), James is pulling a scam involving ordering mobile phones. The name he orders them under is '[[Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey Christian Grey]]'. |
| 180 | * On ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Creator/ChristopherEccleston's character, who can turn invisible, introduces himself as Creator/ClaudeRains, after the actor who played the title role in ''Film/TheInvisibleMan1933''. The line was actually improvised by Eccleston, but they decided to ThrowItIn, and eventually, it was decided that this might even be the character's real name. |
| 181 | * Modified slightly in the ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' episode "Conned Out of Luck" - Mickey mentions Ash to the [[TheCon mark]] as "Mr. Bond", after which Ash simply can't resist introducing himself as "Bond... Film/JamesBond. *{{beat}}* No relation." |
| 182 | ** In another episode, after Mickey references ''Film/TheSting'', Danny uses the alias "Redford", after that film's star, Creator/RobertRedford. |
| 183 | * ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'': The VictimOfTheWeek in "Gently Among Friends" uses the aliases "T. Dan Smith" and "Richard Grainger": two prominent figures in the history of Newcastle who both had the nickname "Mr. Newcastle". |
| 184 | * In the first episode of ''Series/IZombie'', a body in the morgue had been operating as a prostitute under the alias "Stefani Germanotta". Det. Babineaux starts running background on the victim using this name, unaware it is the real name of Music/LadyGaga. Needless to say, he catches some ribbing from his fellow detectives. |
| 185 | * On one episode of ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'', Bertie, Sir Roderick Glossop, J. Washburn Stoker, and the entire Drones club are all arrested, and all give false names, mostly derived from Communist leaders, although there is one exception... |
| 186 | -->'''Oofy Prosser''': I say!\ |
| 187 | '''Judge''': Quiet, Dr. Crippen! |
| 188 | * In the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' episode "Charm City", a fugitive signs into a hotel under R. Reagan. When he is eventually arrested, Lennie Briscoe says, "You're not going anyplace, Mr. President!" |
| 189 | * ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'': In "Identity Crisis", a ConMan turned murderer leaves behind a wallet on the body containing a social security card in the name of Victor Lustig: the con man famous for selling the Eiffel Tower. |
| 190 | * The aliases used in ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' generally have some connection to the heist they're pulling. WordOfGod states that this is because Hardison picks them. |
| 191 | ** And at least once they were names of characters or actors from ''Series/DoctorWho''. |
| 192 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'', Sam Tyler goes undercover as "Tony Blair" with Annie as his wife, "Cherie". When Gene tags along, Sam introduces him as "Gordon Brown". |
| 193 | ** In the [[Series/LifeOnMars2008 American version]], he's "Detective Skywalker," making it more of an ImMrFuturePopCultureReference. |
| 194 | ** Alex in ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' recognises a fellow "time traveller" because he names himself "Boris Johnson". ''Life On Mars'' played the above for laughs; this time it's deadly serious. |
| 195 | * ''Series/{{Lost}}'': |
| 196 | ** Ben's passport says "Dean Moriarty", a character from ''On the Road''. |
| 197 | ** Locke's father called himself "Literature/TomSawyer". |
| 198 | --->"The ladies love that one." |
| 199 | ** Ben went by [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Henry Gale]] before we found out his real name. |
| 200 | ** And Kate has gone by the names Annie (staying with Ray Mullen), Monica (to marry Kevin the cop), Joan (to receive mail), Maggie (to rob a bank), and Lucy (bonding with Cassidy). These are all the names of saints. |
| 201 | ** And John Locke went by Jeremy Bentham (both the names of English philosophers). |
| 202 | * On one episode of ''Series/PushingDaisies'', Ned, Emerson, and Chuck go undercover in a nunnery to solve the murder of a nun. Emerson uses the alias Father Dowling, lifted from a television show called ''The Father Dowling Mysteries'', and Ned goes by Father Mulcahy, from ''Series/{{MASH}}''. Chuck uses the name "Sister Christian", a song from the band Night Ranger. Subverted a bit when they do end up getting caught. |
| 203 | -->'''Mother Superior:''' Perhaps you'd like to call your associate, ''M*A*S*H''[='s=] Father Mulcahy. And Sister Christian is nothing but a heavy petting metal ballad. |
| 204 | * ''Series/TheMiddleman'' did this in every single episode, not just with the heroes' aliases; in any given episode, virtually every proper name, real or alias, was part of a pop-culture-allusion theme of the week. |
| 205 | * ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "[[MidsomerMurdersS19E6 The Curse of the Ninth]]", classical violinist Jacob Wheeler, the first VictimOfTheWeek, rents a safe deposit box using the name of composer Anton Bruckner. |
| 206 | * In one episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'', "Mr. Monk on Wheels", Monk uses the name Literature/EncyclopediaBrown while knocking on a thief's door. |
| 207 | * ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': In "Marked Twain", while investigating an attempt on the life of Creator/MarkTwain, Crabtree goes undercover as bartender at the Empire Club using the alias Samuel Clemens. Samuel Clemens is, of course, Mark Twain's real name, but none the club members seem to notice, indicating they were not fans of Twain. |
| 208 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', the name George Kaplan came up during an investigation, but the team discovered that the account under that name was faked. Tony inevitably remembered that "George Kaplan" was the name of the non-existent federal agent from the movie ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. |
| 209 | * ''Series/NCISNewOrleans'': [=LaSalle=]'s brother used [[Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye Caulfield]] and [[Series/TheFugitive Kimble]] as aliases while he was on the road. |
| 210 | * ''Series/NewTricks'': In "A Death in the Family", a witness gives the fake name of 'George Boole'. Brian recognises this as the name of a famous mathematician (the inventor of Boolean logic) and reasons that only another mathematician would have picked that name as a spur-of-the-moment alias. |
| 211 | %%* In ''Series/PrincessReturningPearl'', Xiao Jian's real name is Fang Yan. Also, when going on [[KingIncognito incognito trips]], emperor Qian Long uses the fake surname Ai. How does that fit the trope? |
| 212 | * ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has Emma trying to pass herself off as a princess while in the past of the Enchanted Forest, and claiming she's [[Franchise/StarWars Princess Leia]]. |
| 213 | * ''Series/{{Psych}}'''s RunningGag of Gus (and sometimes Shawn) being introduced with ridiculous aliases has included preexisting names lifted wholesale. These are: Captain Crunch, [[Music/{{Beyonce}} Blue Ivy Carter]], Santonio Holmes, [[Series/TheCosbyShow Bud]], Creator/DeonRichmond, Creator/ChazBono, Count Chocula, Film/{{Candyman}}, Film/PootieTang, Jonas Gustavsson, Music/LilWayne, [[Theatre/TheKingAndI King Mongkut]], [[Theatre/MissSaigon Gigi Van Tranh]], [[Creator/BillyZane William Zane]], [[Film/{{Grease}} Patty Simcox]], {{Creator/Denzel|Washington}} Diggs "Creator/MorrisChestnut" [[Creator/DenzelWashington Washington]], Creator/EmilioEstevez, [[Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest R.P. McMurphy]], and [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace Laika the Space Dog]]. |
| 214 | * ''Series/ReservationDogs'': Jackie and Elora struggle to come up with false names to give to the drivers that pick them up while they're hitchhiking. The first time, they call themselves [[Music/JanetJackson "Janet" and "Jackson,"]] while the second time they're [[Music/MariahCarey "Mariah" and "Carrie."]] |
| 215 | * The "title character" (sort of) of ''Series/RemingtonSteele'', a movie buff, has multiple passports, each bearing the name of a character Creator/HumphreyBogart played in the movies. In a later episode, Laura catches him in a lie because a woman calling him uses the alias of an Creator/IngridBergman character. |
| 216 | * ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': In "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith", Sarah Jane and her son Luke, having met Sarah Jane's parents when she was a baby, go by Victoria and David Beckham. |
| 217 | * ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'': |
| 218 | ** ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 219 | *** Daniel Jackson once introduces himself to alien bounty hunters as [[Franchise/StarWars Hans Olo]]. |
| 220 | *** And in "1969", O'Neill tells an interrogator that his name is [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries "Captain James T. Kirk"]] and [[Franchise/StarWars "Luke Skywalker"]]. |
| 221 | *** In "Tangent", Jackson tries to stall a Jaffa patrol ship by impersonating a Goa'uld and identifying himself as "[[Film/TheWizardOfOz the great and powerful Oz]]". |
| 222 | ** ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': John Shepard introduces himself as [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]]. |
| 223 | ** ''Series/StargateUniverse'': Eli uses the name [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Philip Fry]]. To his mother, no less. |
| 224 | * In ''Series/TwinPeaks'', Dale and Ed infiltrate One-Eyed Jack's Casino posing as dentists named [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Fred and Barney]]. The casino staff seem perfectly aware that these are aliases, but they also know that - since the casino doubles as a brothel - it's not at all unusual for customers not to want to give their real names. |
| 225 | ** Around the same time, Audrey tries to infiltrate the brothel itself under the name [[Literature/TheScarletLetter Hester Prin]], but the brothel's madam recognizes the name right away. |
| 226 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': |
| 227 | ** Sam and Dean almost always use the names of musicians whenever they pose as policemen/agents/reporters to interview people. |
| 228 | ** They've also used ''Franchise/StarWars'' {{Shout Out}}s: "Major Ford and Major Hamill" and "[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge Antilles]]." Dean also used [[Film/TheGreatEscape "Hilts" and "McQueen"]] to send Sam a note while they were both in police custody. |
| 229 | ** They've also used "Agent Stark" and "Agent Banner" at one point, as shout outs to the Avengers. |
| 230 | ** [[Literature/{{Firestarter}} Charlie]] [[Creator/RayBradbury Bradbury]]'s aliases [[ThemedAliases are made up of]] the first name of a Creator/StephenKing character with the last name of a famous science fiction writer. One episode has her use Literature/{{Carrie}} [[Creator/RobertAHeinlein Heinlein]] as her alias. A FreezeFrameBonus shows some of her fake passports with the names Literature/{{Christine}} [[Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin K. Le Guin]], [[Literature/{{Misery}} Annie]] [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien]], and [[Literature/TheStand Susan]] [[Creator/IsaacAsimov Asimov]]. Her real name has never been revealed. |
| 231 | ** Bela used the alias [[Creator/BelaLugosi Lugosi]], though Bela isn't her real name either. |
| 232 | ** In "Captives", it is revealed that Crowley, the ''de facto'' king of Hell, rented several storage units under the alias "D. Webster" as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the short story "Literature/TheDevilAndDanielWebster". |
| 233 | * Subverted in ''Series/{{Titans}}''; Jason Todd tries to get into a nightclub using a fake ID with the name "Robert [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Plissken]]", but the bouncer catches the reference immediately and tells him "Not tonight, Snake." |
| 234 | * ''Series/{{Vera}}'': In "Vital Signs", Aiden is investigating a RansackedRoom and speaks to an Irishman who claims to be a neighbour and gives his name as 'David Allen'. When he reports this later, Vera is incredulous about about an Irishman named 'David Allen'--to Aiden's confusion--and it is left to Kenny to point out that Creator/DaveAllen was a famous Irish comedian (although, in Aiden's defense, he may be too young to remember him). |
| 235 | * ''Series/VeronicaMars'': It plays a similar name game with other notable fictional detectives. Keith Mars has memorably introduced himself as [[Series/{{Monk}} "Adrian Monk"]] and as "[[Franchise/NancyDrew Carson Drew, and my daughter Nancy]]". Veronica, infiltrating a rival school, went by the name [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Betty]], saying she was Horny, the mascot for the Rhinos, the team at her old school...Riverdale. On one occasion, Veronica went to a church group and pretended to be pregnant. Her chosen alias was [[Literature/TheScarletLetter Hester.]] |
| 236 | * ''Series/TheWarNextDoor'''s FemmeFatale went by the name Barbara Bush. |
| 237 | * ''Series/TheXFiles'': |
| 238 | ** In "El Mundo Gira", detained Mexican immigrants identify themselves to the INS as Juan Valdez, Cesar Chavez, Jose Feliciano, Placido Domingo, and Erik Estrada. |
| 239 | ** In Season 6's "Arcadia", Mulder and Scully's aliases while undercover as a married couple are Rob and Laura Petrie. Given the age of their neighbors, it's surprising no one made the allusion to ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''. It is used for laughs here, as the two spend parts of the episode correcting the pronunciation of "Petrie". It's pronounced like the dish, thank you very much. |
| 240 | --->'''Scully''': Mulder, if we ever go undercover again, I get to choose the names. |
| 241 | ** Early in season 2, Mulder uses the alias "George Hale" to board a flight to Cuba. While not a famous person, he had talked about George Hale with Scully earlier in the episode and was the only way she was able to track him. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 245 | * David Banner, rapper and producer from Jackson, Mississippi named himself after ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' |
| 246 | * The band Music/MarilynManson does this with the name of the band itself and the {{stage name}}s of its members, each of them created by taking the first name of a female celebrity or media figure and the last name of a SerialKiller or spree killer. The eponymous frontman (real name Brian Warner) is named for Creator/MarilynMonroe and UsefulNotes/CharlesManson, while other members have included [[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Daisy]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berkowitz Berkowitz]] (Scott Putesky), Music/{{Olivia Newton|John}} [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy Bundy]] (Brian Tutunick), Music/{{Madonna}} [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy Wayne Gacy]] (Stephen Bier), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Lee_Corporation Sara Lee]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lee_Lucas Lucas]] (Frederick Streithorst), [[Creator/ZsaZsaGabor Zsa Zsa]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Speck Speck]] (Perry Pandrea), Film/{{Gidget}} [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein Gein]] (Brad Stewart), Creator/{{Ginger|Rogers}} [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish Fish]] (Kenneth Wilson), and Creator/{{Twiggy}} [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez Ramirez]] (Jeordie White). These stage names are meant to represent the dichotomy of good and evil, and how both exist in every person. |
| 247 | * In "Banditos" by The Refreshments, the singer plans to use [[Franchise/StarTrek Jean Luc Picard]] as an alias while hiding from authorities in Mexico - he figures no one will recognize the name over there "'cause they won't speak English anyway". |
| 248 | * The members of Music/WuTangClan love to use pop-culture based monikers. Ghostface Killah and Masta Killa both being characters from Kung-fu movies. Ghostface also often goes by [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron Man and Tony Starks]], Method Man sometimes goes by [[ComicBook/TheFantasticFour Johnny Blaze]] |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 252 | * ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'': Kit gets spotted using one of these on a hotel register. |
| 253 | -->'''The Grey Fox:''' If you were really Marianne Dashwood, this would be a Creator/JaneAusten novel.\ |
| 254 | '''Kit:''' As long as most desk clerks are men, it's a pretty safe alias. |
| 255 | [[/folder]] |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 258 | * In the ''Radio/CabinPressure'' episode "Cremona", there's a ShoutOut to ''Film/NottingHill'' (see Film above) where Hester Macauley explains that she uses the names of cartoon characters as aliases while checking into hotels and asks Martin which name she should give this time. Flustered, Martin suggests [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Jessica Rabbit]]. |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 262 | * ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'': Occurs in ''[[SpinOff The Program]]'', when [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Kami Steele]] attempts to introduce herself to Luke Mendoza and Ryan Montoya as [[Film/KillBill Beatrix Kiddo]]. Hilariously, both characters see right through it, mostly because they ''already know she is Kami''. |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 266 | * ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'' by Telltale not only carries on the tradition of the movies, but lets the player choose which alias Marty uses: [[Film/DirtyHarry Harry Callahan]], [[Series/MiamiVice Sonny Crockett]], or [[Film/TheGodfather Michael Corleone]]. |
| 267 | * In ''VideoGame/CulpaInnata'', Phoenix attempts to interrogate a murder witness, only to be told by the witness that she gave a full statement to [[Film/DirtyHarry the other officer, Detective Harry Callahan.]] Phoenix, being an ancient film fan, recognizes the name immediately. |
| 268 | * The other members of your Precinct in ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' call you "Dick Mullen", the name of a famous hardboiled literary detective in the setting. At first it seems ironic, because of how useless a detective you are, but it later turns out you got the nickname for being [[BrokenAce a supremely excellent cop]] before your mental breakdown. |
| 269 | * Solid Snake's alias in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Iroquois Pliskin, is partially taken from Snake Plissken from ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork''. Fitting, since Solid Snake himself was an {{expy}} of Lt. Plissken. |
| 270 | [[/folder]] |
| 271 | |
| 272 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 273 | * One character in the Japanese version of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' gives himself the alias of "Niels" as both a pun on the number 2 and an allusion to real-life Danish physicist Niels Bohr. |
| 274 | * In ''VisualNovel/TheHeistMonaco'', Lee and Rye are aliases. In chapter 2, Samira discovers the Rye's real name and threatens to expose as they search for a hacker for the crew and in chapter 16, it is revealed that Lee is also a codename even though it is editable. The real names of both are a mystery. |
| 275 | * [[Theatre/WaitingForGodot Godot]] (real name [[spoiler:Diego Armando]]) from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''. |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 279 | * ''WebAnimation/DaAmazinOTAdvenchr'': Only the tOLPers identify Lite as "Toaster". |
| 280 | [[/folder]] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 283 | * In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive,'' Grace utterly fails at using this trope. Because of an earlier comparison [[ClarkKenting between her and]] Franchise/{{Superman}}, the name she chose was Clark. Immediately corrected by Greg to the less GenderBlenderName Claire. |
| 284 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', as part of Sam Starfall's plan to get Florence out of Ecosystems Unlimited, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1700/fc01683.htm he identifies himself]] to [[PointyHairedBoss Kornada]] as "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cold Leonard Snart. Captain of this cold facility]]". |
| 285 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Dave tells Terezi that his name is Creator/BenStiller. |
| 286 | * Hilary of ''Webcomic/OtherPeoplesBusiness'' introduces herself as [[Series/TheRachelMaddowShow Rachel Maddow]]. |
| 287 | * ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Bam calls himself Jue Viole Grace and Rachel is suddenly Michelle Light. It is implied that Ja Wangnan's name is also just an alias. Finally there is [[spoiler: Wave Controller instructor Yuga]], whose real name and identity is the secret service agent Ren. |
| 288 | [[/folder]] |
| 289 | |
| 290 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 291 | * An easter egg in the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoon "secret identity" shows the registry book for Bubs' Motor Lodge, where we see people have signed in under fake names including "Mr. [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe Allan Poe]]", "Mr. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_Boyardee Boyardee]]", "Mr. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain Chamberlain]]", "Mr. [[Film/SupermanTheMovie Tesmacher]]", "Mrs. [[Creator/JacquesCousteau Cousteau]]", "Mr. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_Five_Freddy Five Freddy]]", and "Mr. [[Creator/BillyDeeWilliams Dee Williams]]". From clues, it's not hard to determine which character is behind which alias, and the latter is explicitly confirmed to be Homestar himself. |
| 292 | * Members of ''ARG/SpectacularOrganic'''s upper hierarchy included people who, if they existed at all, were using fake names taken from characters in other media: [[Film/{{Splice}} Clive Nicoli]], [[Film/TheFlyII Martin Brundle]], and [[Film/FearDotCom Terry Huston]]. |
| 293 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': In ''[[http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php/9-original-canon/256-destiny-s-wave Destiny's Wave]]'', Alexander Starshine, a typical American male, underwent a GenderBender and turned into a Chinese girl, and picked a name from what is presumably ''ComicBook/LegendaryCouple'' from Creator/ComicsOne when he was asked: |
| 294 | -->"First things first, what's your name?"\ |
| 295 | Here it was, the moment of truth. He remembered a name of a character from one of the Hong Kong comics he liked. "My name is Chou Lee." |
| 296 | ** The 'journalist' who goes to interview Thomas Townshend about the mysterious and seemingly vanished SuperVillain, Mephisto the Mentalist, calls himself 'Dustin Redford'. However, Townshend, who ''is'' Mephisto, and being a MasterOfDisguise and of ThePowerOfActing himself, immediately recognizes this as being from the names of Creator/DustinHoffman and Creator/RobertRedford, and that 'Redford's persona was based on that of Bob Woodward, whom Redford (alongside Hoffman) played in the film adaptation of ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''. Figuring that 'Redford' was an agent of his arch-enemy, The Dark Avenger (an {{Expy}} of both ComicBook/TheShadow and ComicBook/{{Batman}} with a bit of ComicBook/ThePunisher thrown in), he [[UnreliableNarrator leads Redford down a twisty garden path]] while relating his 'biography'. |
| 297 | [[/folder]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 300 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': |
| 301 | ** In "Office Spaceman", Roger sells photos of an alien (himself without a disguise) to a newspaper while using the alias [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Parker Peters]]. |
| 302 | ** In "Faking Bad", Steve starts selling fake [=IDs=] under the alias Guttenberg. Another criminal thinks that he's named himself after the inventor of the printing press (Johannes Gutenberg), so Steve expresses shock that actor Creator/SteveGuttenberg (whose name he was actually referencing) [[ComicallyMissingThePoint invented the printing press]]. |
| 303 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'': Jake Long once came up with the alias Music/{{Beyonce}} [[Music/JustinTimberlake Timberlake]], but it was okay because he was [[ImMrFuturePopCultureReference time traveling at the time]]. |
| 304 | * ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': In "The Unnaturals", the robot Little League team all have the names of famous dead MLB players. |
| 305 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': "I'm Officer T.J. Hooker. ''Sheriff'' Officer T.J. Hooker. And this is my partner [=MacMillan=] and Wife". |
| 306 | * On ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', immortal AntiVillain [=MacBeth=] uses the alias Lennox [=MacDuff=] as his modern persona. Both are characters from [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare's]] ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. The first time he uses it, the person he's talking to (a writer) immediately finds him suspicious. |
| 307 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': "Uh... Elvis. Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabar". |
| 308 | ** In one episode the mafia mistakes Homer for Krusty the Clown (since in this episode he's dressed as Krusty after attending clown school). Homer denies it, but when it turns out the mafia doesn't like Homer either he starts making up several identities, all of which the mafia still would kill him for. |
| 309 | -->'''Homer''': But wait! You can't kill me for being Krusty. I'm not him. I'm Homer Simpson!\ |
| 310 | '''Fat Tony''': The same Homer Simpson who crashed his car through the wall of our club?\ |
| 311 | '''Homer''': Uh, actually, my name is Barney, Yeah. Barney Gumble.\ |
| 312 | '''Legs''': The same Barney Gumble who keeps taking pictures of my sister?\ |
| 313 | '''Homer''': Uh, actually, my real name is, uh -- think, Krusty, think. -- Joe Valachi!\ |
| 314 | '''Louie''': The same Joe Valachi who squealed to the Senate Committee about organized crime?\ |
| 315 | '''Homer''': Benedict Arnold!\ |
| 316 | '''Legs''': The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender West Point to the hated British?\ |
| 317 | '''Homer''': D'oh! |
| 318 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS7E6DealNoDeal "Deal No Deal"]] has Ahsoka, hiding her past with the Jedi Order from her new friend Trace, claiming that she learned her skills by attending the "Skywalker Academy" on Coruscant's surface. |
| 319 | [[/folder]] |
| 320 | |
| 321 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 322 | * A common tactic of [[FourOneNineScam 419]] baiters. They usually do this for these reasons: |
| 323 | ## It's more amusing if they manage to fool the scammer. |
| 324 | ## The scammer may use it as a false name later, making his future scams more obvious. |
| 325 | * As shown in the documentary film ''Kanehsetake: 270 Years of Resistance'', one of the protesters at the Oka Crisis used the alias "[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]". |
| 326 | * The 2010 Orwell Prize for best political blog was ironically awarded to an anonymous blogger calling himself [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Winston Smith]]. |
| 327 | * The electronic musician Music/{{Moby}} is a big fan of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and checks into hotels with names from the show. |
| 328 | * A few PornNames, such as [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Kylee Reese]] and [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles April O'Neil]] ([[http://9gag.com/gag/5854577 who even cosplayed as her inspiration]]). |
| 329 | * In June 2014, Scott Fistler, an Arizona candidate for the US House of Representatives, legally changed his name to Cesar Chavez believing it would help him appeal to Latino voters. Needless to say, [[http://bigstory.ap.org/article/arizona-candidate-cesar-chavez-faces-challenge the real Chavez's family was unamused]]. |
| 330 | * It's assumed that the famous hijacker D.B. Cooper was using an alias, and his true identity is one of the classic StockUnsolvedMysteries. What's not as well-remembered is that he actually introduced himself as "Dan Cooper". It's been speculated that he may have been slyly referencing ''Dan Cooper'', a Franco-Belgian comic series about a fictional Royal Canadian Air Force flying ace, that ran in ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}} Magazine''. |
| 331 | * In the 1980s an arrested teenager claimed his name was Raven Darkholme. It was some time before someone reconized that as the real name of the X-men character Mystique. |
| 332 | [[/folder]] |
| 333 | |
| 334 | ---- |
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